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WAMC Sports Report 4/4/23: UConn wins March Madness with 76-59 smothering of SDSU

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NCAA March Madness

Adama Sanogo powered UConn to the school's fifth national title with a 76-59 victory over San Diego State. Sanogo had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies, who became the fifth team since the bracket expanded in 1985 to win all six NCAA Tournament games by double-digits on the way to a championship. The big man from Mali was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. UConn built a 16-point lead late in the first half, then held on for a wild ride down the stretch. The Aztecs trimmed the lead to five with 5:19 left, but Jordan Hawkins answered with a 3 to trigger a 9-0 run and put the game out of reach. Keshad Johnson led San Diego State with 14 points.

UConn’s Jordan Hawkins made this year’s NCAA championships a family affair Monday night when he picked up a title a day after his cousin Angel Reese led LSU to the women’s crown. And he had a message for those who’ve criticized Reese for waving her hand in front of her face while staring down Iowa star Caitlin Clark before pointing toward her finger where a championship ring might be. He noted the cousins are national champions and the naysayers aren't.

First lady Jill Biden says she wants to see the defeated Iowa women’s basketball team invited to the White House as well as the national title winner Louisiana State University. She watched LSU’s 102-85 victory from the stands on Sunday night. The first lady, during a visit to the Colorado state capital in Denver, praised Iowa’s sportsmanship and congratulated both teams on their performance. She says the champions were sure to be invited to the White House and then added that she was going to tell the president that “Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”

Jim Nantz could fill an evening weaving tales of the great games and buzzer-beaters he’s had the privilege to call over a storytelling career that made his voice the voice of March Madness for nearly four decades. But when asked about his favorite moments as he prepared for the 354th and final game of that journey, he wanted to talk about underdogs. It's the teams that don't get much time in the limelight that Nantz works overtime for. He wants to tell their stories the right way. It makes this year's Final Four a fitting time to go out. It was filled with teams nobody expected. A storyteller's paradise, Nantz called it. Even though this is it for basketball, the 63-year-old broadcaster will stay on CBS for golf and football coverage.

MLB

Gleyber Torres hit his 100th career homer and reached base five times, Anthony Rizzo added a two-run shot and the New York Yankees routed the winless Philadelphia Phillies 8-1. Defending NL champion Philadelphia is 0-4 for the first time since 2016. The only team to win a World Series after starting 0-4 was the 2021 Atlanta Braves. Nestor Cortes allowed one run and seven hits over five innings and made a key defensive play in his season debut. The All-Star’s spring training was disrupted by a strained right hamstring that prevented him from participating in the World Baseball Classic.

Rookie Brice Turang hit a grand slam for his first major league homer to cap a seven-run fifth inning as the Milwaukee Brewers opened their home schedule by routing the New York Mets 10-0 on Monday. Brian Anderson also homered and Freddy Peralta pitched six shutout innings as the Brewers won their third straight. This marked Milwaukee’s first shutout victory in a home opener since a 2-0 triumph over the Atlanta Braves in 2014. Mets starter Carlos Carrasco received a pitch-clock violation before throwing his first pitch.

Bryan Reynolds hit a pair solo home runs, Jason Delay added another and the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Boston Red Sox 7-6. On a mild evening in which the teams combined for six home runs, Masataka Yoshida hit his first since joining the Red Sox from Japan’s Orix Buffaloes. Yoshida and Triston Casas hit two-run drives and Rafael Devers added a solo shot. Reynolds had his fourth multihomer game, his first since last Aug. 12 at home against Boston. Pirates starter Johan Oviedo and Boston’s Kutter Crawford had short nights.

Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon was suspended for five games and fined by Major League Baseball for his altercation with a fan last week. Rendon says he is dropping his appeal after his suspension was reduced to four games. Rendon grabbed a fan’s shirt through the bars of a railing last week and exchanged words with him before appearing to take a swipe at the bill of the man’s ballcap and walking into the tunnel.

NHL

Final SO Vegas 4 Minnesota 3

Final Dallas 5 Nashville 1

Final Seattle 8 Arizona 1

WWE

WWE is saying goodbye to existing as a family-run business as it joins with the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company. The deal announced Monday between Endeavor and World Wrestling Entertainment catapults WWE into a new era after spending decades under the control of the McMahon family. Vince McMahon purchased Capitol Wrestling from his father in 1982, and took the regional wrestling business to a national audience with wrestling stars such as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, John Cena and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. McMahon called the agreement an evolution for WWE.

MASTERS '23:

It's been 20 years since the biggest controversy in Masters history. Martha Burk protested the all-male membership at Augusta National. Nine years later in 2012, the club had its first female members. More noticeable is the landscape beyond one club and one tournament. The PGA of America had its first female president. The president of the Korn Ferry Tour is a woman. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club voted to accept women as members. Former PGA president Suzy Whaley says she's happy with where women in golf are headed, but more help is needed to get to where they need to be. Round one of this years’ Masters tournament begins Thursday.

LIV GOLF

British Open champion Cameron Smith refers to Augusta National as his happy place. He arrived with a little trepidation now that he's with LIV Golf. Smith says he found it was business as usual. He says there's a lot of talk at the Masters about LIV Golf players competing against PGA Tour loyalists. That much was clear when a practice round tee sheet listed Bryson DeChambeau playing with Tiger Woods. Turns out that wasn't the case. Smith says it's important that LIV players contend at the Masters. He says LIV players are wrongly accused of not playing real golf.

All contents © copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A 2022 Siena College graduate, Alexander began his journalism career as a sports writer for Siena College's student paper The Promethean, and as a host for Siena's school radio station, WVCR-FM "The Saint." A Cubs fan, Alexander hosts the morning Sports Report in addition to producing Morning Edition. You can hear the sports reports over-the-air at 6:19 and 7:19 AM, and online on WAMC.org. He also speaks Spanish as a second language. To reach him, email ababbie@wamc.org, or call (518)-465-5233 x 190. You can also find him on Twitter/X: @ABabbieWAMC.